Has living in Thailand castrated your in-real-life complaining mojo?

[Jingthing]

Not talking about complaining on forums.

Talking about complaining in real life. To Thais. (To non-Thais is another matter.)

 

It occurred to me today that the longer I live in Thailand the less likely that I will complain about ANYTHING to Thais no matter how heinous.

 

I tend to just shut my pie hole.

 

Without going into any details (y'all know the laws here about that) I experienced an incredibly poor customer service experience today. It was very bad in multiple ways. The brown icing on the caca cake was very careless pandemic protocol, which I did push back against and made them stop (there were two of them) only to be met with laughter!

 

OMG, if I was in the U.S. I would have been on the phone immediately to their company and most likely would have been awarded ridiculous compensation without even asking.

 

But here, no way. Nothing.

 

Indeed I got two emails from the company directly soliciting feedback on their service. I did not answer.

 

Now, why?

 

Going local? Don't want to get people fired even if they deserve it? Face? That they might come back and murder me if they realize who ratted them out? Avoiding conflicts here just makes sense.

 

It's just not worth it. If it was a service I don't need, I can just stop using them. In this case, I do need them which makes this even worse.

 

Oh well!

Has this castration of your in-real-life complaining mojo happened to you too?

Edited August 1, 2021 by Jingthing

[BritManToo]

Just now, Jingthing said:

Like the locals, I tend to just shut my pie hole.

Me too!

[Sparktrader]

Vote with $

[sanuk711]

That's what the wife is for...... I just say "I wouldn't stand for that

---if only they could understand my Thai..........Then Off she goes...........

[CharlieH]

Pick your battles, and to quote a well know phrase.......

 

"grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

[steven100]

I think the reason we don't bother complaining anymore is :

firstly :  Is the missing item,  or the broken plastic,  or the 20 minute delivery delay ......   is it really worth the hassle to complain  ?  because chances are nothing will be done, and the person on the other end of the phone will hang up and forget all about your problem as he don't care. ( it's just a farang  )

 

and secondly :     Even if you do complain, their quality control process is non-existent and they'll likely just sack the kid who packed the box, or didn't check everything, or didn't deliver on time.  

And i would feel really bad if the kid lost his job because of my complaint.   

[VocalNeal]

16 minutes ago, steven100 said:

or didn't deliver on time. 

TIT. Please define "on time"

 

They say you have been in Thailand too long if you have swapped your watch for a calendar. 

 

I tend to measure time now by counting the number of pills missing from my blood pressure pill pack.

[worgeordie]

You complained about icing on a cake ...no wonder they were laughing at you .

what are the Farangs of Thailand coming too . OK complain about the big stuff,

like if your wheel comes off your truck after you have just driven out of the garage,

stuff like that, otherwise it's just a waste of time , and Thai's will laugh at you.

 

Learnt that the first week here, bought a big bottle of Sprite , opened it up and it

was flat and tasted funny. took it back to the shop , the lady said "I cannot exchange

it or give you your money back as you have opened it"........yes i had to, to find something

was wrong with it......."Sorry." she said,  yes it's no good complaining over the small stuff.

regards worgeordie

[swissie]

That's the price one has to pay for living in a "laid back country". Unfortunately, this "laid back syndrome" extends to the private sector economy/government/public sector. Inevitably leading to more reasons to complain.
Southern European Countries are also more "laid back" than their northern counterparts. With the same results. Not to mention North/South America.

[zzaa09]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Me too!

Yeah...

Just let it go. 

Of course, many can't - required to whinge on about everything. 

[steven100]

and the laid-back not complain attitude is a double edge sword as nothing will change,   nothing will be fixed or become better,   customer service will remain non-existent as no one complains so they don't have reason to fix it. 

[HashBrownHarry]

I don't speak to the poor people.

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

Never (Verbally)Complain.......seldom works and generates anger, escalation, negativity, violence, etc.

but Always Apologize.....

Especially here where right & wrong count far less than Fatalism, Face, Defamation, Culture, Rank.

 

Preferably Smile & Move On OR Politely Appeal, Challenge, Assert Rights. Calmly Present Facts Only.

Complaining = Blame, Face Loss, Defensive (Useless) Response, Physical Danger........Not Productive. 

Even though you perhaps feel smug or righteous for being “correct” or “not being messed about”.........

before getting that punch in the face....or worse.

[mancub]

I find myself frequently entering Basil Fawlty mode....especially when people push in when I'm patiently waiting to weigh my veggies in Lotus....if that helps ? 

[BKKTRAVELER]

4 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

TIT. Please define "on time"

 

They say you have been in Thailand too long if you have swapped your watch for a calendar. 

 

I tend to measure time now by counting the number of pills missing from my blood pressure pill pack.

I left my watch in its box and burned my calendar. I don't even know which year it is anymore. The whole world has become nuts (rightfully so) and I just don't care when it is anymore.

[Airalee]

5 hours ago, Jingthing said:

OMG, if I was in the U.S. I would have been on the phone immediately to their company and most likely would have been awarded ridiculous compensation without even asking.

“ridiculous compensation”?

 

What on earth could have gone so wrong here that you would have received “ridiculous compensation without even asking” back in the US?

[Sparktrader]

7 hours ago, Airalee said:

“ridiculous compensation”?

 

What on earth could have gone so wrong here that you would have received “ridiculous compensation without even asking” back in the US?

Free coffee and donuts

[EVENKEEL]

I ordered 2 pizzas and on the menu they have a pic of Taramizu Cake for 140 tbh. Now the pic and the price would lead me to believe the cake was a decent size. The piece of cake was 2"x2" of soggy mess. The cake part was soggy wet like it had been frozen and defrosted many times. The worst ever. For me it's sacrilegious to even call the soggy mess Taramizu, I sent them a scathing message, it's the same as if I made tom yom with water and ketchup and tried to sell it. 

[Gsxrnz]

Issues with caka cake serving protocol definitely comes under the category of a first world problem. 

 

Personally I revel in the total randomness of odd situations that present themselves in Thailand, and they can be easily remedied without getting ones' knickers in a twist.

 

Example: Recently my contractor was "banned" by the condo manager from using the elevator because he allegedly damaged it while bringing up boxes of flooring tiles.  I went down to supervise and was told by the condo manager he wasn't allowed to use the elevator.  My smiling response was that "he" isn't using the elevator - "I" was using the elevator and "he" was helping me.  Oh OK, that's no problem says she. She even seconded the security guy to help and speed the process up.

 

I find that the vast majority of Thais go out of their way in their attempt to please me - but perhaps (as in any country) it is the attitude and demeanor that you present to them that determines how they respond to you. 

 

Another example - I ordered marmalade (as opposed to jam) with my English breakfast. Jam arrives with the breakfast (who cares anyway), and then randomly, an omelette  is presented to me.  Marmalade/omelette apparently sounded the same to the waitress.  I laughingly explained the situation, waitress laughs, brings me marmalade, the omelette is free, and can I please teach her to say marmalade and omelette more clearly.

 

I think if you try and see small issues such as these as something to laugh about, you will be a much happier and contented individual.

[Gsxrnz]

9 hours ago, mancub said:

I find myself frequently entering Basil Fawlty mode....especially when people push in when I'm patiently waiting to weigh my veggies in Lotus....if that helps ? 

The correct protocol is to smile and push back in to your rightful place in the queue  making them think that you know that they know they pushed in, but by not making it obvious that they pushed in, the very fact they pushed in didn't actually happen, and it was all a dreadful misunderstanding.

 

Unless they are Chinese tourists, and then you stand on their toes while pushing back in, and don't smile.

Edited August 2, 2021 by Gsxrnz
spelling

[bbko]

"That they might come back and murder me if they realize who ratted them out?"

 

Murder?!? 555 Thanks for the morning laugh ????????

[grs90]

I'm British so if something needs complaining about I just "TUT" very loudly.  That's really telling them!!

[Jingthing]

13 hours ago, worgeordie said:

You complained about icing on a cake ...no wonder they were laughing at you .

what are the Farangs of Thailand coming too . OK complain about the big stuff,

like if your wheel comes off your truck after you have just driven out of the garage,

stuff like that, otherwise it's just a waste of time , and Thai's will laugh at you.

 

Learnt that the first week here, bought a big bottle of Sprite , opened it up and it

was flat and tasted funny. took it back to the shop , the lady said "I cannot exchange

it or give you your money back as you have opened it"........yes i had to, to find something

was wrong with it......."Sorry." she said,  yes it's no good complaining over the small stuff.

regards worgeordie

You do realize this wasn't about cake, right?

 

https://www.infobloom.com/what-does-icing-on-the-cake-mean.htm

[Jingthing]

12 hours ago, steven100 said:

and the laid-back not complain attitude is a double edge sword as nothing will change,   nothing will be fixed or become better,   customer service will remain non-existent as no one complains so they don't have reason to fix it. 

Yeah imagine  being a manager here that sincerely wants to improve processes but lacks the input of customer feedback to inform about what's broken.

[worgeordie]

15 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

You do realize this wasn't about cake, right?

 

https://www.infobloom.com/what-does-icing-on-the-cake-mean.htm

The hidden message went completely over my head ,in the UK

"icing on the cake" does not mean anything about complaining,

it means adding something extra to something that is already good.

So to enlighten me to what  the hidden message was?.....

regards Worgeordie

 

 

[Jingthing]

33 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

The hidden message went completely over my head ,in the UK

"icing on the cake" does not mean anything about complaining,

it means adding something extra to something that is already good.

So to enlighten me to what  the hidden message was?.....

regards Worgeordie

 

 

As explained in the link, its meaning can be positive or negative.  In the context of this topic it was obviously negative indicated by describing the icing as brown colored and the cake as caca cake. Caca being excrement.

[Morakot]

15 hours ago, Jingthing said:

customer service

What's that? In Thailand?

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, Morakot said:

What's that? In Thailand?

They do have it but its often weird.

[Morakot]

7 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

They do have it but its often weird.

The idea that customers experience a service mind approach is rather novel in a place that is usually ruled by Mị̀ mị̂... Mị̀ dị̂... Mị̀ pĕnrị..

[OneMoreFarang]

16 hours ago, Jingthing said:

OMG, if I was in the U.S. I would have been on the phone immediately to their company and most likely would have been awarded ridiculous compensation without even asking.

Good luck Thailand is not like the USA.

That would be a reason to leave in a hurry.